Iowa 'Entrance Poll' Offers N.H. Clues

3 Evang elicals in New

Hampshire?

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee's win in the GOP Iowa caucuses was powered by evangelical voters, who preferred him over his rivals by better than a 2 to 1 ratio. But there are far fewer evangelical Christians in New Hampshire.

Among non-evangelicals, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney prevailed, winning 33 percent of their votes, compared with 18 percent for McCain, 17 percent for former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.), 14 percent for Huckabee and 11 percent for Paul.

Granite State GOP voters are also more socially liberal than their Hawkeye counterparts: Fifty-two percent in last month's poll said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while in Iowa just 23 percent thought so.

In Iowa, GOP voters sought a candidate who reflected their worldview: Forty-five percent said their top interest is in a candidate who "shares my values," and more than a third said it matters "a great deal" that candidates share their religious beliefs. Huckabee won in both groups.

But New Hampshire's voters could be looking for something different. In the 2000 primary exit poll, 55 percent of GOP voters said presidential candidates' religious beliefs were a matter better kept private.

4 Young voters.

Judging by the entrance poll, this year's Democratic caucuses appeared a lot as they were predicted to look in 2004, when former Vermont governor Howard Dean's orange-capped field staffers tried to inspire young Iowans to caucus. Nearly a quarter of the Iowa voters on Thursday were younger than 30, with Obama picking up the biggest share of their support.

Nearly two-thirds of young voters in Iowa focused on change, and 13 percent on experience.

(In 2004, 14 percent of the Democratic electorate in New Hampshire was younger than 30. That was the only age group to go for Dean, and only by a single percentage point over Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), the eventual nominee.)